When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self Reliance and Planetary Survival provides information that will help the average person prepare for the uncontrollable forces and events that will affect everyone on the planet within the next 20 years. A user-friendly "bible" in the tradition of the Whole Earth Catalog, this book is the first to offer, under one cover, basic instructions and recommended resources for the wide range of skills and technologies necessary for self-reliant living and coping with all kinds of emergency conditions.

In an era of super-storms, burgeoning population, massive earthquakes, and record-breaking temperatures, floods, and droughts, more and more people are seeking to prepare themselves to deal with the difficult times that may lie ahead. When Technology Fails addresses this universal concern in one engaging and concise volume for the general reader. A directory of resources and instructional guide to sustainable technology for living in an increasingly unstable world, it outlines survival strategies for dealing with changes that affect food, water, shelter, energy, health, communications, and essential goods and services. When Technology Fails provides something for everyone, from parents who want to help their families when a disaster strikes to the go-it-alone survivalist, to the eco-minded person who wishes to tread more lightly on the earth, whatever the future may hold.

"Great book! I was drawn in and couldn't stop reading...The depth of this book, covering everything from building materials to spiritual healing, is astounding. It is a one-stop source for the broad range of information and resources we need to create a self-sufficient, earth- friendly lifestyle. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in preserving the health of themselves and the planet — and moving toward a sustainable, sane way of living." Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Editor-in-Chief, Natural Home magazine

"A marvelous guidebook for helping us through the worst of times, and even improving on the best of times..." Thom Hartmann, author, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

I liked this book. It's carefully researched, comprehensive, well illustrated, and readable....You'll spend enjoyable, useful hours leafing through this encyclopedia of possible alternate lifestyles." Carla Emery, author, The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An Old-Fashioned Recipe Book

"We may all need a survival reference when technology fails, Matthew provides one — fact-filled, with useful tips on all aspects of survival, clothing, food, shelter, water etc., including such vital subjects as grazing and the green pharmacy." James A. Duke, economic botanist, USDA (ret.) and author of The Green Pharmacy

"When Technology Fails is a massive project done well....Not only is the information presented well, but a solid bibliography can carry the student as far as he desires in any particular area of interest." John McPherson, author of Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills

"Stein's excellent guide to simplifying your life, reducing your environmental impact, and pulling yourself out of a jam is sure to gather no dust on your bookshelf...This book is a personal and planetary empowerment tool." Richard Heede, Ph. D., author of Homemade Money: How to Save Energy and Dollars in Your Home.

Matthew Stein holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from MIT. Currently president of Stein Design, he has designed consumer water filtration devices, commercial water filtration systems, medical bacteriological filters, drinking fountains, emergency chemical drench systems, computer disk drives, portable fiberglass buildings, and automated assembly machinery for Hewlett-Packard, Seagate, Plantronics, Duraflame, Haws, and IGT, among other companies. He has also worked as a schoolteacher, carpenter, and rock climbing and ski instructor. For many years, Stein has pursued an avid interest in alternative healing and preventive medicine. He currently resides in Truckee, California (near Lake Tahoe) with his wife and two children.

I. An Introduction to Self-Reliance
An uncertain Future, Why This Book, Preindustrial self-sufficiency, Old- Fashioned Self-Reliance and Modern Sustainable Technology

II. Present Trends, Possible Futures
Current Trends, Sustainability and Limits to Growth, Oil Reserves, Water and Food, What about the Weather, Systems Modeling and Systems Response, Trees, Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming, The Ozone Layer, Shrinking Polar Ice Caps, Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Prophecies, What Can I Do? Planning for the Future, The "Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon", Effective Action

Ill. Supplies & Preparation
Are You Prepared? Short-Term Preparedness Checklist, 72-Hour Survival Kits, First Aid Kits, Earthquake Precautions, Longer-Term Planning and Storage, Basic Supplies and Portable Equipment, Calculating a Year's Food Supply, Storage Tips, Dry ice Fumigation and Vacuum Packaging, Shelf Life Guide, Long-Term Planning

IV. Emergency Measures for Survival
Survival Strategies, Compact Survival Kit, Developing a Survivor Personality, Water Requirements and Dehydration, Starting a Fire with Flint and Steel; Bow and Drill; a Hand Drill; and a Fire Plough, Basic Guidelines About Food, Plants, Insects, Grubs, and Worms, Emergency Shelters, Emergency Snow Shoes, Cordage, Plant Fibers and Making Your Own Cordage, Simple Tools, Discoidal Stone Knives and Bone Tools

V. Water
Water Requirements, Stocking Up for Emergencies, Guidelines for Coping with Disaster, Water Pollution and Contamination, Heat Sterilization, Portable Water Filters, Chemical Sterilization, Using Silver to Preserve Water, Treating and Finding Water the Low-Tech Way, Wells, Modern Water Treatment Including Chlorine and Ozone, Activated Carbon Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Distillation

VI. Food: Growing, Foraging, Hunting & Storing
World Population and Food Supply, Soil Health and Soil Losses, Sustainable Agriculture, "Grow Biointensive" with Double-Dug, Raised Beds, Composting, Companion Planting, Seed Propagation, Pest Control, Extending the Harvest in Cold Climates, Sprouting: Your Own Mini-garden on a Windowsill, Foraging for Food, Brief Guide to Wild Edible Plants, Poisonous Plants to Avoid, Preserving and Storing Food, Root Cellars and Other Cold Storage, Drying and Smoking Food, Dairy, Tofu, and Tempeh, Raising Animals, Hunting and Trapping, Bow and Arrow, Skinning and Cleaning, Fishing

VII. Shelter and Buildings
Green Buildings, Basic Soil Tests and Building With Rammed Earth, Modern Adobe: Blocks, Walls, Roofs and Methods, Cast Earth, Straw Bale Buildings, Building with Insulated Concrete Forms, Pumice-Crete, Passive Solar "Rules of Thumb", James Kachadorian's Patented Solar Slab, Log Cabins, Timber Frame Construction, Tipis, Yurts, Wickiups, and Wigwams, Improving Earthquake Resistance

VIII. First Aid
Initial Evaluation, Consent and Liability, ABCs of First Aid, Unconscious Victim, CPR? Pressure Points, Tourniquets, Abrasions, Incisions, Puncture, Abdominal, Head and Chest Wounds, Heimlich Maneuver and Choking, Bandages and Dressings, Shock, Fractures and Dislocations, Sprains and Strains, Snake, Spider and Tick Bites, Stings, First Aid for the Eyes, Clothing Drag for Single Rescuer, Multi-Helper "Stretcher" Rescue, One- and Two-Person Carries/ Emergency Childbirth

IX. Low-Tech Medicine and Healing
The Holistic Health Movement, The Low-Tech Medicine Cabinet, The Essence of Healing, Genetics and Cellular Growth, Body Energy, Colloidal Silver, Powerful Herbal Combinations for Better Health, Dr. Clark's Herbal Parasite, Kidney, and Liver Cleanses? Detoxification, Naturopathic Healing, Fasting, Supplements and Food, Homeopathy, Healing with Energy, Shamanic Healing, Hypnosis for Pain Control and Healing, Visualization and Mind-Body Healing, Mending Broken Bone, Some Notes on Death and Dying

X. Clothing & Textiles
Fiber Arts, Preparing Fibers, Spinning, Weaving, Knitting and Crocheting, Furs and Skins, Brain Tanning Buckskin, Bark Tanning Leather, Patterns and Custom-Tailored Clothing, Footwear

XI. Energy, Heat & Power
Shifting to Renewable Energy (RE), Energy Conservation, "Negawatts" and RE, Net Metering, AC Versus DC, Batteries, Backup Generators, System Sizing and Design, Photovoltaics, Insolation, Panel Orientation, Maximum Power Point Trackers, Wind Energy? Micro-Hydropower, Solar Hot Water, Solar Space Heating, Solar Water Pumping, Steam Energy, Fuel Cells, Heating with Wood, Energy, Power, and Electricity Primer

XII. Metal Working
A Brief Introduction to Metals, Casting Metal, Make Your Own Sand Casting Furnace, Forging, Low-Tech Heat Treating

XIII. Utensils & Storage
Making a Simple Wooden Cup or Bowl, Basket Basics, Growing, Curing, Cleaning and Sealing Gourds, Storing Fluids in Skins and Other Animal Parts, Primitive Pottery, Pinch, Coil and Slab Pottery, Throwing Pottery on the Wheel

XIV. Better Living through Low-Tech Chemistry
Soapy Plants, Lye Soap, Making Candles, Alcohol, Malt and Mash Fermentation, Distillation, Vinegar, Pitch Glue, Hide Glue, Vegetable Oils

XV. Engineering, Machines & Materials
Forces and Statics, Stress and Strength, Fluids, Materials, Mathematics, Trigonometry, Logarithms

Afterword